The End of The Rainbow
by russetfurbr
Summary: WARNING: DARK THEMES. AU. After an unexpected twist of events, Muirfield's agents find out about Catherine Chandler's involvement with Vincent Keller. A story of loss and pain.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: This is just a work of fiction written for fun. I don't own Beauty and the Beast in any way. **

**Prologue **

**The Future**

As she laid in a pool of her own blood on the freezing bare ground, Catherine Chandler felt an insane, irrational laugh rising from her stomach to her throat. It was impossible to hold it back and she really didn't want to. The irony of that situation seemed like a bad soap opera. As it was her entire life.

While she laughed, she thought about how naïve she had been. She really thought that everything would be all right and there was a precious prize to win at the end of that journey.

She had chased down a rainbow, expecting to find a pot of gold at its end. Only an angry leprechaum was there, though, waiting to take down whoever tried to invade its domains.

At the end of the rainbow there was only pain.

She knew her end would be violent. Ever since she found out about... _everything_, she had expected to be in that exact shape in that exact white room with blood oozing out her lips and arms, forming frightening crimson patrons on her once immaculately white silk blouse. Her whole body hurt, terribly beaten up. The most terrifying thing, though, was the large gash on her stomach, exposing the flesh and blood under her skin.

Surprisingly, she didn't feel any pain coming from that particular wound. Actually, she was starting to feel numb and dizzy. She comprehended that it was only a matter of time before she fainted out.

There was a loud alarm sound – like those you hear in action movies when the factory where the main character is trapped is about to explode – echoing through the whole place, warning everyone about the security bleach, but her antagonist didn't seem to care about it.

He was looking down at her with a satisfied smile on his attractive face, as if admiring his work. His olive toned skin reflected the bright lights in the room, making his features look like they were glowing.

"Such a waste," Muirfield's agent whispered in a sarcastic tone.

At least, she knew JT was safe. There was nothing they could do to about it anymore. He was smart and knew better than to remain in the city. He would be all right.

She just wished she could see her family one last time.

Her father worried her. He would be devastated about losing yet another family member. He had Brooke, though, and she would help him through the pain.

Thomas was stronger than when their mother died now and he seemed truly happy with his new marriage. Her young stepmother was a lovely woman and Catherine was glad he had her in his life.

Yes, she would take care of her father.

Catherine had done everything she could to protect the ones she cared about. She could let go now.

**A/N: This story will be really dark. I don't think it'll be easy to read because my plan for it involve things like rape, drugs, sex and mind tricks. So I feel like I have to warn the readers about it. **

**I'm not planning on making any concessions of any kind for the characters. So if you're offended by heavy topics or you can't stand to see your favorite character exposed in his/hers flaws and weakness, it's probably best not to read it. **

**You have been warned. **

**See ya!**


	2. Chapter 1 - Fighting

**Disclaimer: This is just a work of fiction made for fun. I don't own Beauty and the Beast in any way.**

**Fighting**

"_Whatever it is, I'm in" Alex said sweetly, confidently. _

Alex was in. Just like that. Without explanations, without second thoughts, without hesitation. There was nothing to think about anymore. Actually, there never was something to think about. He would take the opportunity to be a man again. He would take off with Alex. He would keep the promise he made to her all those years ago

He knew that he had already made his decision before entering the car that morning with her, but he thought it wouldn't be fair to Alex if he didn't tell her about the risks she was unwillingly taking. Catherine's image asking him with a blank expression what he was doing, running after her in the park, suddenly popped in his mind. She knew it, too. And to be totally honest, he didn't know why he had to ask for her blessing.

It was not like they had anything. He couldn't even say that they were friends. He honestly didn't know what they were. Maybe he unconsciously had found the right term to define his relationship with her when he told Alex that she was his handler.

He just felt bad for leaving without telling the brunette. It felt like he owned her something. He wanted her to validate his decision. She wasn't willing to do it, though. Like always, she didn't want to do what was best for him or to give him what he needed.

He pushed the thought away, deciding not to live his life under the expectations of someone that obviously didn't care about him. Catherine had pushed him away repeatedly, each time with a different absurd reason. Basically, she had told him that his decision was none of her business, even though she had affirmed that she wanted to be with him. He couldn't live like that, waiting for her to make a decision and stick with it. Alex didn't have a decision to make. She was in.

Suddenly, he asked himself why was so important to tell her everything. He felt so good when he was by her side, knowing that she saw him like a man and not a failed genetic experiment. Catherine never looked at him like that. In fact, she made sure to remind him what he was every time they met. She never had tried to know the real Vincent Keller, she never tried to see past his flaws. Alex made him feel free and wanted. Made him feel human.

And human he was. More human than he had been or felt in ten years ever since he took Vanessa's serum, actually. He could even control the transformation since then.

Alex would never look at him as looking at a monster. He would make sure of that. Specially, because he had decided. He didn't need to tell her about his dark past. She would never know about the "Beast".

"_I suppose I can have virgin margaritas," Vincent said, leaning into Alex and allowing her to cover his lips with her own. _

Alex was in ecstasy. The man she had loved her entire adult life, the same man she believed dead for almost a decade, had returned to her. For a brief while, she thought he wouldn't be with her again. It was all so odd in their reunion. At first, he was so reticent, so mysterious. She even thought he wasn't willing to reconnect. Obviously, she was just reading too much in his cautious behavior because he never went away again, despite telling her that he couldn't be around her. He just couldn't resist. Just like when they started to date when they were younger. It had always been like that. Their love was stronger than anything.

Though the kiss had been hesitating, it was perfect. The nurse had missed his kiss so much. How many lonely nights she dreamed about kissing him again and crying until sleep, knowing that she would never feel his body close to hers again? Feeling his lips over hers seemed like a sweet dream.

Better than a dream, actually. Because it was real.

Try as he might, Vincent couldn't give himself entirely to that kiss. His mind was spinning with insecurities and fears. And regrets. As much as he was trying not to think about a certain New York's female detective, he just couldn't shrug her image away. A knock on the door took them out of the kiss and he sighed, almost in relieve.

He frowned, berating himself for doubting his own decision. Then, he convinced himself that he was just not used to be a free man again, that he was just nervous due to the that little intimacy and that his hesitation had absolutely nothing to do with Catherine Chandler.

"Who could it be up here? It's almost 9 pm." Alex said with a worried face. "There's no one in miles, specially this time of the year."

"I don't know. Stay here!" he ordered, getting up and heading to the door.

Whoever he expected to see on the other side, it sure wasn't that dark haired man. The guy was a lot shorter than him, didn't look threatening at all and had a tense smile on his face.

"Hi, there!" the man greeted, awkwardly. "Sorry to interrupt, but my car is not working. Can I use your phone?"

"Oh, sorry, sir!" Alex said, solicitously. "We don't have phone lines here and there's no cell phone reception either."

The ex-soldier was paying close attention to the stranger in front of him while she talked to him. His heartbeat couldn't be any faster and little drops of sweat were scattered all around his forehead.

He was lying.

Faster than any human eye could see, he grabbed the man by his neck, his hands encircling it and putting enough pressure to scare him.

"Vince!" Alex yelled in shock.

"Who sent you?" the DNA altered man asked him in a hard tone, ignoring her.

"I don't know! Look, man, I'm sorry! I don't know anything! This guy payed me a thousand to make you go where they are. He said he was charging a gambling debt. That's all," the stranger replied, panic evident in his voice.

Even without having his super senses, Vincent could tell that he was telling the truth. He spent way too many years dealing with people. At the hospital, at the Army, running from his nemesis. He was trained enough on finding lies.

"Vince, what's going on?" Alex demanded, frozen in the same place.

"And where are they?" Vincent questioned, still not paying any attention to her.

"Aaat tttthe eeeend of the Eeeeast Rrrroad," the dark haired man stuttered.

The ex-soldier hit the back of his head with just the amount of force enough to knock him down. He was just a guy, after all. There was no reason to do anything else and there would be no risk for them if he lived. They would be long gone when he recovered.

"Vince!" Alex shouted again, shocked with his violence.

"Alex, get our bags while I tie this guy up. We have to get out of here," he ordered firmly.

"Vince, what's going on?" she whispered.

Just then, hearing her changing her tone to one of fear, he realized that she wasn't ready for those situations like he was. Like Catherine was. She must be terrified for what she saw and not giving her any explanation was just getting her even more scared.

"Remember when I told you that there were people hunting me?" he asked her gently and she nodded vehemently. "They found us here and sent this guy to try and make me go to them. We have to get out before they realize their plan didn't work."

"Vince!" Alex exclaimed, running to him and hugging him tightly.

"Don't worry, Alex! I'll take care of them," he assured her, pushing her away from him delicately so he could look in her eyes and show her how serious he was. "Prepare our things. We're going to get out of here. You have to be strong now, though. I'll need you to trust me. You'll load our things in the car, drive to the West Road and wait for me there. If I don't come back to you in one hour, you'll have to leave me behind and save yourself."

"No! Vince!" she refused, throwing herself on his arms again.

"Alex, you have to promise me you'll do as I say. I won't be able to handle whatever is waiting for me out there if I have to worry about you. I need you to be strong. Can you promise me that?" he admonished her firmly.

"O-okay. I-I und-understand. I promise."

"That's my girl. Now, go get our things," he commanded, going to kitchen to fetch some ropes.

After tying the dark haired man tightly, they got out without bothering to extinguish the fire. They couldn't foresee when the stranger would wake up and they didn't want him to die of cold. Alex went obediently to the opposite direction that Vincent took and he went to find his persecutors.

He reached the point where Muirfield's men were with inhuman speed. The woods were quiet and dark. To an ingenuous outsider, it would look peaceful and harmless. Vincent knew better, though, and he walked through the night with cautious soundless steps.

That was the first time he was actually testing his new "animal abilities". Even _he_ was astonished with his light footsteps. The night vision had been useful when he fought that maniac that was stalking Alex, but he didn't know that he could see that far in the dark.

It didn't take much time to find the team sent to bring him down. Ten men. All of them heavily equipped to the hunt, including night vision accessories. Vincent recognized immediately the tranquilizer's guns, which indicated that they weren't there to kill him.

Somehow, that perspective was even worse.

If they were having all that trouble just to capture him, they were most certainly intending to study the effects of his long survival after the experiments. He repressed a terrified shiver, afraid of calling the agents' attention. He had only one chance of surprising them and he wasn't willing to waste it with an useless demonstration of fear.

He thanked his medical and military training. Years learning how to control his first reaction to extreme situations had helped him several times, including the early days of his transformation after the experiments.

Even so, the thought of what could happen to him if they manage to imprison him was much too scary. His creators probably wanted to cut him open to study him. _After_ exposing him to countless numbers of tests. All the images that passed through the hunted man's mind were ones of extremely painful torture.

There were three men at his front, three to the right and four to the left side. He decided to take the ones on the front first, reasoning that it would take longer for the other teams to unify against him. His inhuman speed was the only advantage he had against them. The adrenaline pumping through his veins had already triggered his change and he was able to use the full power of his enhanced abilities.

Vincent ran and jumped the three agents in only seconds, his claws ripping the first man's throat almost instantly. The movement was so fast that his hand didn't even got dirty with his blood. The other two screamed in a mix of surprise and warning, alerting the others. The second one was taken down by a powerful punch. The ugly sound of his broken skull reverberate in the woods, creating a morbid symphony. The genetically altered man took his firearm before he even hit the ground, shooting the third one.

The first three men didn't had time to fight back, but the same didn't happen with the other teams. A tranquilizer shot passed only inches away from his arm. He would have been hit if he wasn't in motion. A round of shots followed that one and Vincent turned around, looking for the shelter of the nearby tress, shooting the gun until he ran out of bullets aimlessly. Luckily, one of the left's team got hit in the tight, making the teams separate again. The agents also hide behind trees, trying to find a better aim to take him down.

All that happened in less than two minutes. The agents were well trained and organized, but they didn't know about Vincent's night vision ability. While they were trying to find him on the ground, he was jumping above them from tree to tree at full speed, reaching the team with the injured member quickly, knocking them down and ripping them apart in the most frightening "enraged Beast" fashion and making a bloody mess.

The little amount of time necessary to take the whole team down was beyond impressive.

Vincent never noticed that his speed had increased after he took the serum before, perhaps because he hadn't needed it until that moment. He had taken down two teams in less than five minutes, almost silently. A brief pain squeezed his heart with the realization. The serum that helped him to control his inner monster also had made him even more monstrous. A predator like no other.

It was the ultimate irony.

He didn't have time to dwell on self pity, though. The battle for his life and Alex's safety was far from over, despite his clear advantage. Taking the men's pistols again, he searched the woods for the remaining three members of the hunting party.

For a while, there wasn't any move. He contemplated leaping to the trees again, wanting to end all that killing for once. He felt like a murder again, but there was nothing he could do to avoid it. They wouldn't stop chasing him until the last member was dead. As much as it pained him to kill people – any kind of people, even the bad ones – like that, he knew that he didn't have alternatives.

A small noise reached his hear. One of them must have stepped into a branch or something like that, revealing their location. Taking a bold decision, he got out of his hiding place and ran towards the agents' direction, quickly getting them on his vision range. Three shots later, it was all over.

Vincent's hands and arms were covered in blood. He went to a little stream near the road and washed himself slowly, taking his time in order to calm down. Although it was much easier for him to go back to his human form currently, the adrenaline was still running freely through his body and he didn't want to see Alex in that condition. The almost freezing water helped a lot to cool down and, when he decided that he was in enough control, he went to find Alex.

The red haired woman let out a small scream when Vincent tapped the car's window. A wave of relieve crossed her body, making her almost numb. She fought her brain a little to open the door for him because it was kind of lethargic with the adrenaline rush. She had been so worried.

"What happened?" she almost yelled as soon as he sat in the passenger side.

"Nothing," he said simply, not looking at her.

"But what about those men that wanted to ambush you?" she pressed.

"It was only one. I knocked him down," he lied.

"Thank God! I was so scared."

"Let's get out of here quick, Alex!" he demanded.

"Okay!", she replied, starting the car. "Do you think it's safe to go back to my place?"

"No! I mean let's get out of here. Really get out. As in leaving United States. For good. You said you were in. Did you mean it?" the ex-soldier asked in an anxious tone, looking firmly in her eyes.

Her only answer was a smile. She hit the car's accelerator without hesitation and they were on the road in minutes.

Simultaneously, Catherine parked in front of the cabin with a heavy heart. She wasn't ready to see Vincent and Alex together as a couple just yet. In fact, she thought that she would never be able to see it. She even thought about breaking their bond for good when Alex told her about their romantic weekend in the woods. There was nothing she could do to avoid it, though.

Muirfield could find them at any minute and she wouldn't be responsible for their deaths. As much as it pained her, she had to be strong and face the unavoidable. She rather see the happy couple running away to the sunset than think about Vincent dying on Muirfield's hands. She just loved him too much to allow that.

A dreadful sensation climbed up her spine and she shivered when she noticed that there wasn't any car near the cabin and the lights were off. Through the tires' marks on the ground, she could see that only one car arrived and left the place. That didn't mean that Muirfield's agents hadn't been there, though.

The only sounds surrounding her were the ones from nature. If it wasn't for the light of the fire in the fireplace, the cabin would look like no one had been there.

Catherine carefully tried the door's knob, knowing that would be locked already. Taking a credit card from her wallet, she managed to force the door open. The interior was warm from the fire and there was a faint smell of food in the air. They had reached their destination and stayed there long enough to make dinner, but had left in a hurry, judging by the dirty glasses and plates on the coffee table.

The petite brunette palled, thinking that she had arrived too late and Muirfield had got them. Just then, she heard a muffled sound and an unknown dark haired man rose from the floor in front of the coach, stumbling on his feet, his hands tied firmly.

"NYPD!" Cat shouted immediately, drawing her gun and pointing at him. "Stay where you are! Who are you?"

"Please, don't shoot! I don't know anything! I swear! I just wanted an extra cash," the man replied, stuttering in fear.

"Sir, I'm not going to shoot you, but you better start talking because I know you're not this cabin's owner and who I'm looking for is obviously not here," the brunette ordered in the firm voice she used with criminals.

The man explained to her how a man paid him to go there and lure the man in the cabin out of it so he could meet him without any interference. The man had said that he just wanted to charge a gambling debt and nothing would happen. The dark haired man told her about the guy in the cabin threatening him to reveal his real reason to be there and then knocking him down. That was all he knew.

It wasn't necessary too much effort to fill in the blanks. Vincent had ran from Muirfield's agents with Alex before they arrived. Since there was no one else in the surroundings beside the two people in the cabin, Cat deduced that they knew their target wasn't there anymore. She wasn't afraid for his life anymore because she knew he was careful and strong enough to handle them.

She got rid of the man, warning him that that was a classified information and that if he ever talked about what happened in that cabin, she would personally see that he spend a good time in jail, which got him so scared that he ran full speed out of the property.

Cat went to the place where the man was supposed to lead Vincent and found a gruesome scene. Ten men shredded to pieces, in what looked like an attack of wild animal, were laying on the ground in awkward angles, tossed aside like rag dolls. The ex-soldier had killed them all. Despite the horrible scene in front of her, Cat sighed in relieve, knowing that Vincent had managed to fight them all.

She deduced that he returned to the safety of his home and she got in her car quickly to do the same. It was better to let those men where they were. The forest police would certainly find them and attribute their deaths to some wild bear attack.

Even thought she was trying to convince herself that they had returned to New York, deep inside of her she knew that she would never see Vincent Ryan Keller again.

**A/N: I know. I'm sorry. You guys can't even imagine how hard it was for me to write this chapter, specially Vincent's thoughts about Cat, but I warned you this story would be dark. **

**I don't really need to explain things before this chapter starts. The events are the same from the show. I know the scene with the guy asking help with his car isn't accurate, but I won't watch that ep again to make it right. I simply refuse. **

**Vincent sounds like a selfish bastard here, but let's be honest, wasn't he in the show? And, yes, I do think that he had already made his decision when he went to the fucking romantic cabin in the woods with the dumb red hair and that, if she hadn't backed down, he would take off without looking back. In fact, I think he had made his decision before going after Cat in the park. I hated him so much for that!**

**I know that only three agents fought VinCat in the woods, but I needed this fight to be even more terrifying than the one in the show and Vincent to show even more power to Muirfield's eyes. It would make sense later, I promise. That assuming you guys will stick around long enough to find out about it, of course.**

**Thoughts? Was the fighting scene any good?**

**See ya!**


	3. Chapter 2 - Leaving

**Disclaimer: This is just a work of fiction made for fun. I don't own Beauty and the Beast in any way. **

**Leaving **

"_Be here! Be here! Be here!"_ Catherine chanted in her head, as if sending a prayer to the universe, while she pulled outside the limits of the warehouse.

She didn't dare to really pray, asking to know about Vincent and Alex's whereabouts, afraid of actually getting an answer. All the evidences indicated that the couple had managed to get away from the cabin before anything bad happened, but there was still that little doubt lingering above her head.

Getting to the door rapidly, she banged at it with energy, not caring about the late hours. She knew that JT wouldn't be sleeping anyway, not when his best friend's life was endangered. She could have called him when she reached the point where the cell phone's reception worked, but there was something pushing her forward, making her go to Vincent's place, like she wouldn't believe whatever had happened to him if she didn't see with her own eyes.

The sound of heavy running feet filled the otherwise silent interior and she automatically knew that they belonged to JT – the other inhabitant of the warehouse footsteps were too light to be distinguished from behind a closed door – and the door was opened abruptly.

"What happened? Did you find them? Why didn't you call?" JT fired his questions without a break.

"No. Aren't they here?" Cat asked, disturbed with JT's lack of information.

"Oh, my God! This is bad! What happened?" he almost yelled.

"JT, calm down! Let me in, it's freezing out here," she responded, trying to calm her own heartbeat and gain time to organize her own scared thoughts.

"Yeah, of course! Sorry about that! Come to have some tea. I just made it. It'll warm you up a bit," he offered, regaining composure.

Cat sat on the small kitchen's table while JT served both of them steamy mugs of tea. The relaxing smell of chamomile filled the air and made the petite woman's mind a little more clean. With the confirmation of her inner fears, she started to pull all the pieces of the puzzle together.

When her companion sat in front of her, offering her mug, she looked straight at his eyes and told him everything that happened in the cabin. The unknown man tied there, the slashed bodies in the woods. She knew that it would be hard for him to hear – as hard as it had been for her to find out – the result of Muirfield's attack. There was no easy way to inform him about her findings in the woods, though.

"There were no tides marks on the ground, nothing that indicates any sign of fight besides the dead men. I think they escaped, JT. And if they're not here by now, they won't come back. I think they ran away. After all, that was what this trip was about, right? Planning their escape to Nigeria or whatever other place they could be Muirfield's free," she stated in a whisper, the sadness barely hidden behind her "professional analysis".

"No! Of course not! Vincent would never take off without telling me! They got him, I know that! We have to do something. You're a cop. How do we find them? What if I report that Alex's missing? We don't have to say anything about Vincent," the slightly overweighted man reflected, franticly looking for a way to find them without compromising Vincent's identity.

"You can do that, but that would put them in danger if they're running away," she argued.

"And how do you know that they're running away?"

"I just do."

"Did you actually talk to Vincent?" JT asked in a neutral tone.

"No. Both his and Alex's cell phones go straight to voice mail. But they knew about Muirfield's strategy and Vincent took down the agents. It's almost certain that they are on the run right now," she responded in the same tone.

"You do know that this is Vincent's life that's in danger, right?" the professor said, darkly. "We don't have time to deal with your too-late-jealousy-crisis. He's in this mess because _you_ pushed him away. _You_ were the one that couldn't deal with a little bit of competition. _You_ were the one that told him to go to that stupid cabin with Alex in first place. Now, he's missing and it's pretty obvious that Muirfield has him and, instead of wasting your neurons thinking about how we're going to get him back, you'll just seat there and say to my face that he ran away with your rival? You won't even try to do anything because you lost the fight to Alex? Can you be more selfish?"

His words hit her like a punch in the stomach. Yes, she was jealous, feeling heartbroken and miserable. Even after that incoherent encounter in the park, she still had a little bit of hope that he wouldn't just leave her, that he would realize that he was only living a fantasy and that the bond that united them wasn't just based on the countless times he saved her life or the ones she helped him. She loved him with all her heart and, for a little brief while, she thought he felt something for her, too. Finding out that she was mistaken the way she did was hard. Knowing that she would never see him again was also hard. She couldn't decide what was worse.

That didn't mean she would leave Vincent to fend for himself in a life-threatening situation. She was a cop, after all. She had swore to serve and protect and her oath was her life-guide. She would never leave an innocent without protection, no matter what. But she just knew that there was no innocent to protect, that there was only a couple heading to the rest of their lives.

Together. Deliriously happy.

"Selfish? How am I selfish? All I ever did was think about him, try to let him free to find happiness. And all I got back was this same kind of attitude you're having now, this same kind of judgment. Even from him. He was the one that rejected me when I tried to tell him how I feel. He was the one that forgot everything we had been through the minute Alex showed up in his life again. Did he tell you that he told her I was just his handler? That he kissed her in front of me? Do you even know what I'm feeling right now? Do you have the minimum notion of how much I love him? Of how hard it's for me to know that he doesn't love me back?" the petite female yelled in frustration.

"He doesn't love you? How do you know that? You were never around when he needed you, always too worried about yourself, your career, your friends. Anything, but him. You love him? All you ever did was taking from him without giving anything back. I lost the count of the many times he entered that door looking miserable because you were keeping him at arm's length. Using him to save Evan – the guy that kissed you in your birthday's party, from all people – in those tunnels, knowing what he was going through at the time or telling him that you didn't want him because Alex had showed up claiming to still be in love with him were good ways of showing how much you love him. You never loved him and now that he found someone that does, you refuse to help him, just because you can't handle not having him as your personal slave anymore," JT yelled back.

A loud sound filled the wide space inside the warehouse. The sound of Cat's hand connecting to JT's face so hard, so rapidly that he didn't even had time to evade her aggression. During two heartbeats, none of them dared to talk or move. Even breathing seemed forbidden in the heavy atmosphere that surrounded them in that moment. They just stood there, looking at each other with wide eyes, while JT's cheek gained an ugly shade of bright pink in the format of her hand.

"You don't know a thing about me or my feelings for Vincent," the brokenhearted woman whispered sadly. "I'm going home now. As I said, Vincent took off with Alex so I'm sure that won't happen, but in case that he contacts you, call me. I'll talk to you later."

The glassed man stayed frozen in his place, looking at Cat's back while she slowly made her way out of his place. Although his body was refusing to function due to the shock of what had just happened, his mind was racing with a million thoughts.

His worst fear had became truth. After years of uncertainty, fear and hiding, his best friend was caught by the same organization that turned him into a monster and wanted to kill him to cover its mistakes. He had to do something. He couldn't just cross his arms and pretend that nothing was happening. He had to find a way to get him back. The problem was that he had no idea where to start looking for and the only person that could help him just walked out of his place hating him.

But he would do anything possible to locate Vincent. He would bring him back home, safe and sound. Even if that was the last thing he would do.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

While they advanced on the road that leaded them farther and farther away from New York and the life both he and Alex had decided to leave behind, Vincent's mood was turning darker and darker. He concentrated on the view outside, looking at the passing trees, trying to think about how his night vision activated without any conscious command, as if it became part of his nature, instead of the uneasy feeling at his stomach.

"What do you think?" Alex asked.

He startled at the sound of her voice, but she took her eyes off the road for one second and confidently glanced at him. Only then, he realized that she had been talking to him the whole time. He hadn't heard a word.

"Sorry, I must have dozen off. What did you say?" he replied politely, feeling his cheeks burning in embarrassment.

"That's why I think we should stop at a motel and rest for the night. You must be exhaust and I could use a few hours of sleep, too," the red haired woman answered with a condescending smile on her lips.

"I don't think this is a good idea, Alex. We're still too close to the cabin to consider ourselves out of danger."

"But I'm driving for two hours and you said that you've knocked the man that was ambushing you down. There's no way he can find us now," she argued stubbornly.

"What if he's not the only one out there? All we know is what that guy in the cabin told us and he didn't knew much."

"Then, there would be someone following us. Look for yourself. Apart from us, the road is completely empty."

Alex was right, of course. If there was someone following them, he would know. There wasn't any unusual sound or any suspicious movement around them, but that didn't mean that Muirfield couldn't track them down easily. If they had managed to find them on Alex's secluded cabin, they sure could find them on an open road.

"Still... I just don't want to take any unnecessary risk, Alex. We had luck so far. I don't want to abuse it."

"Vince, you're being paranoid! There's no one out there," she laughed.

Her light tone shook him out of his anxiety and made him laugh with her. That was exactly what he needed. He needed to learn how to be free again, how to let himself be happy again. That was exactly why running away with Alex was the right decision for him. He needed her happiness.

"_Catherine is happy!"_ the thought crossed his mind as if someone else was talking.

At the same time, he self a rush of adrenaline running through his spine. He turned his head to the window quickly and startled at the golden eyes staring at him through the window's reflection.

"Alex, I have to use the bathroom. Pull over!" he asked, barely managing to keep his voice from distorting.

"Now? We're in the middle of nowhere!"

He was a heartbeat away from transforming in her presence.

"Yes! Now, please!"

"Okay!" Alex agreed, surprised with his urgency.

The dark haired man got out the second the car parked. The freezing night air hit his face, bringing a little clarity to his confuse mind. He went behind some bushes to pretend he was peeing and have a few moments of privacy to calm down.

The transformation rush went away as fast as it came, but left Vincent almost panicking. He didn't know why it happened all the sudden. Maybe it was all the stress from their escape and the fear of being caught in the middle of the road, maybe not, but he was positively scared of losing control and it was not like he could share his fear with Alex.

He didn't want to stop at a motel. Alex's expectations were too high at the moment and he just couldn't handle her sexual advances that night. Not with his inner monster so close to the surface. He had planned to tell her plainly that he didn't want to take that step in their relationship just yet while they were in the cabin, but everything had changed. He had committed himself to Alex again and it would be hard to explain why he didn't want to have sex with her to seal it. He needed to find a way to have a good sleep and avoid being alone with her.

The answer came like a thunderbolt and he actually reprimanded himself for not thinking about it sooner. It was just too perfect and too simple. He would have to be extra careful, but it would be worth if he could have a calm trip to their destination. He went back to the car with a new disposition and a smile on his lips.

"We're going to leave the car and take a bus South, Alex," he informed his fiancée.

"What?" she asked, more out of astonishment than anything.

"Think about it. We both are tired and tense. We would travel way faster if we were doing it during our sleep and it would be more complicate to find us. Since we can't actually fly, the next best thing is a bus. It's perfect!"

"Vince, that's insane! I can't just leave my car on the street! People will think I'm missing! People will think I'm dead," Alex argued, taken aback by his eagerness.

"So what? Wasn't that the whole purpose of this escapade? Wouldn't it be easier if people thought you dead like me? Alex, I told you that it wouldn't be easy. I told you that you would have to make concessions to be with me. This is it, Alex. You said you were in, but you can leave if you want. I won't force you to do anything you don't want, but this is my life and if you want to be a part of it, you'll have to do things that you won't like to do from time to time," he explained patiently.

The nurse looked down at her hands, weighting her options. In the end, she knew there was only _one_ option.

"Okay, Vince. How are we doing this?" she whispered.

He smiled. Yes, that was why being with Alex was the right decision for him.

**A/N: Don't judge JT or Cat. They're both in pain for losing Vincent. People in pain do stupid things and their closest ones are always the ones to suffer. **

**I always thought that Beast – as in Vincent's basic instincts – knew exactly who was his real mate and who he loves. Not that I think of them as separate entities. More like as in Vincent can't really fight what's really inside of him when he transforms. **

**I went delirious during the fight scene in the woods. Vincent only lost control over his animal side when Cat's life was threatened. If that isn't proof enough of who is his real mate and that, deep inside, he always knew he loved her, I don't know what is. **

**See ya!**


	4. Chapter 3 - Changing

**Disclaimer: This is just a work of fiction made for fun. I don't own Beauty and the Beast in any way. **

**Changing **

They stared at each other with equal sheepish expressions. It had been two days since their angry confrontation and both knew that they had lashed out on the other their fear and frustration about Vincent's disappearance.

"I shouldn't have slapped you," Cat whispered.

"And I shouldn't have said that you didn't care about him," JT responded.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too. I guess we both were a little on the edge," the glassed man reasoned.

"Yeah. Not the best of times to open our hearts, right?" she asked, smiling awkwardly.

"Probably not. Are we cool again?" he half joked and she nodded with a more relaxed smile. "We don't need to hug or do some girlie thing like that, right?"

She actually laughed at that and responded, "God, no! I don't want to ruin your image with a real display of human sentiment."

"Ha ha! Funny! I don't even know why you're a cop with this enormous talent to comedy," he observed ironically. Then, he sobered up and complemented, "That fight kind of served some purpose, though. I mean, you told me some things that aren't quite true and I put out some things that I was holding up since Vincent and you started to hang out," he said in a conciliatory tone.

"I never tried to use Vincent, JT," she replied tiredly.

"Yeah, that was harsh and unfair! Look, I don't actually think that. Yes, I got mad when you made him save Evan and all hell break loose because of it, but I know that you were only trying to help an innocent. After all, that's the first thing you and Vincent had in common."

"Thank you."

"Cat, they didn't run away. I know that," JT affirmed with conviction.

She sighed heavily and sat at the table, closing her eyes. Ever since she found out that Vincent had ran away with Alex she hadn't slept well. She spent the last couple of nights thrashing in the bed for hours, reviving the night when Vincent officially rejected her until tiredness put her to sleep, only to be plagued by nightmares that would wake her up several times at night.

"They found Alex's car, JT."

"Really? Where? Who found it?" he asked, frantically, his fear making his heart beat faster.

"The police found it abandoned at Newport Centre Mall."

"I told you! Muirfield got them and left the car there to confound the police."

"JT, there's no sign of struggle or anything that suggest something happened to them. They're searching the car for fingerprints, blood or anything suspicious. I'm waiting for the results because I want to be able to do something when they find Vincent's fingertips on it, but I don't think they'll find something out of ordinary. There's a bus station about 5 miles from the place were the car was parked. My guess is that they left the car behind and took a bus. It would be a logical thing to do."

"Cat..." JT tried to argue, but she interrupted him.

"JT, I don't know how much Vincent shared with you, but I'm not wrong about this. I saw the bodies of Muirfield's agents. We both fought by Vincent's side and you know how capable of handling them he was as much as I do. He got stronger after taking the serum you made with my mom's notes. There was no way they would capture him. He had made up his mind to run away with her when they planned that trip."

JT sat by her side with a determinate expression. It was time to tell her the entire truth about Vincent's behavior. He needed her help to rescue his friend and his only ally didn't believe his abduction.

"Cat, the only thing that made Vincent reconnect with Alex again was you backing down when she showed up. He told me what happened. About her kissing him, the mistake he made to tell her you were his handler, the day in the park. You got it all wrong."

The dark haired girl laughed bitterly, retorting, "How should I take him telling her that I was his 'handler'? He didn't even have the decency to tell her I was his friend, JT!"

"You don't know everything about their story. He thinks he owns Alex because of everything he put her through. You know that he had a hard time after his brothers' death, but you don't know how important Alex was back then. He was lost and full of rage, Cat. He got addicted to prescript drugs trying to suppress his pain. It was a really dark time for him and Alex was the one that helped him to get out of his addiction and took care of him and his family during the worst time of their lives. When he finally got himself on his foot, he enlisted and left her without a single goodbye. It was cruel of him to do that to her."

The brunette listened to JT's relate with wide, surprised eyes. So many things she didn't know about the love of her life, so many important things he never shared with her. It only made it more evident to her that she didn't mean to Vincent the same thing he meant to her.

"I didn't know that," she murmured, more to herself than JT.

"Yeah, I figured that much. He doesn't talk about that time, not even to me. I understand why he wouldn't tell you all this. He felt extremely guilty about Alex for a year or so after he came back from Afghanistan. He tortured himself with the knowledge of his abandon," he paused, letting his words sink. Then, he looked at her eyes to show that he was telling her the truth. "But he stopped thinking about her after he found you in the woods, Cat. After that night, he talked less and less about Alex until she became an old topic and he simply stopped. He thought that she would move on, the same way he did. Thus, when he saw Alex again and she said that she still loved him, he didn't have the heart to tell her about you. He just said the first thing that popped in his mind. He never thought you would found out about it. He never meant to hurt you. Cat, he went to the park to apologize to you about Alex's behavior and you rejected him again. No wonder he would follow her to the cabin. You told him to do it."

"He didn't apologize about Alex and I never told him to go, JT," she replied, her voice wavering with her struggle to contain the tears. "I just did what anyone with a little self esteem would do, getting out of his way and letting him deal with Alex the way he thought it was best. He said he wanted to apologize, but the only thing he did was communicate me his decision to go with her. He never tried to see how much that woman had hurt me when she told me that they were going to a romantic weekend together. He just wanted me to say that everything was all right so he could go without any guilt. His decision to be with her was made way before that day. If he had any doubt about his feelings, he wouldn't reject me when I told him that I wanted to be with him. He never really loved me. I was just the only female available after ten years of loneliness. The minute his true love showed up again, I lost all importance."

"What do you mean, he rejected you?" JT asked, surprised.

"I came here to say to him that I wanted to be with him and he rejected me, saying that his options weren't that clear anymore. In another words, he had no intention to stop seeing Alex. He actually said to my face that she was a better option than me because she was willing to leave her life behind to follow him and I wouldn't do that."

"That's not right. That's not what he told me. He told me that you said Alex only wanted him back because she didn't know about the experiments and that you demanded him to tell her. He was really hurt because you always had to remind him of what he was and you never tried to see him as a man."

She gasped at his revelation and got up panting, beyond offended. Her nostrils got wider with her indignation.

"So, I'm just a shallow woman to both of you, right? News flash, JT, I never thought about him as less than human! He was the one that only saw himself as an aberration and he threw his insecurities on me. Funny thing is that he never told Alex about his true condition and I wander why would that be. Maybe because he knew that _she_ would never accept him the way he is now. Thanks for letting me know your opinion about me, though. I don't even know why I came here, anymore. It's clear that you never considered me as a person worth of your consideration or Vincent's attention."

She turned to leave, walking quickly towards the door and fighting the disappointed tears that were blurring her vision. She wouldn't give JT the satisfaction of seeing how much he had hurt her.

"Cat, wait! I'm sorry! I know now that I just saw what Vincent saw. I need your help, Cat! I can't bring him back by my own," he half yelled, following her.

"Find some proof that Muirfield had them, JT. For now, I'll stay with my gut feeling that tells me they're happily walking the path to sunset," she responded before pulling the heavy door open and walking out of the warehouse.

**A/N: I have no idea where the fucking romantic cabin in the woods could be located so I just Googled New York surroundings to figure the bus station location. Don't get too mad if the location of Alex's abandoned car isn't exactly correct, okay?**

**Yes, I think Vincent never told JT about the way he rejected Cat. Otherwise, he wouldn't have accused her of sending Vincent away with the dumb nurse. **

**I wanted this chapter to be longer, but I just can't write about Vincent and Alex right now. These dialogues between Cat and JT were too emotional for me right now. **

**See ya!**


	5. Chapter 4 - Denying

**Disclaimer: This is just a work of fiction made for fun. I don't own Beauty and the Beast in any way. **

**Denying **

"_Hello?" _

_Vincent sighed relieved when he heard JT's voice. He had answered the phone sounding calm and relaxed, as if nothing out of ordinary was happening. The tall man double checked the bus station he was in again, just to make sure no one was looking at him or that there wasn't some suspicious activity around. Alex smiled and waved at him from the newsstand across the platform full of people. He smiled back at her before turning his attention back to the phone. _

"_Hey, JT! It's Vincent," he greeted him with a smile._

_An incredible sensation calmed his heart instantly. He didn't even know how much he missed his friend before hearing his voice on the other side of the line. The former soldier had spent the last week in such state of anxiety and worry that he did his best to stay focused on the moment he was living, refusing to let himself get distracted by thoughts of what was happening to the ones he left behind. _

"_Hey, man! What's up?" the professor said, uncharacteristically excited. _

_Vincent frowned. He had thought that JT would be worried sick about him at home and spent the last days fighting the guilt that was eating him alive, despite knowing that he was doing what was right. He couldn't risk calling his friend until he was very far away from New York and Muirfield. Thus, he stayed in silence all that time. Knowing JT, he expected him to be having an ulcer. Apparently, he was wrong. _

"_I'm sorry I hadn't called you earlier, JT! Alex and I are hiding. I had to be sure that no one could trace this call," he justified. _

"_No worries, dude! It's all good! Are you having fun?" he responded, comprehensively. _

_That was getting weirder by the second. It was not in his roommate's nature to be so understanding. In fact, Vincent was kind of dreading the time he would talk to JT because he was sure he would bite his head off. _

"_This is serious, JT! Muirfield's agents found us somehow in her parent's cabin. There's nothing funny about it. Alex and I are running away. I'm sorry I didn't talk to you before doing it, but when I decided to go there with Alex I was already thinking that going away with her was the best for everyone. I get to be a doctor again and you can have your life back. You won't need to look over your shoulder anymore, man. And I can give back the life I stole from Alex when she was told I was dead." _

"_Just do what you think it's best, V! I'm glad you called. We should get together one of these days," his friend replied, nonchalantly. _

"_That won't be possible, my friend. I... I won't... I can't see you anymore, man. I'm taking off with Alex."_

"_Yeah, I get that. Just send me your address later and I'll take Sarah to a nice trip to see my best buddy. I bet Sarah and Alex will unit against us, just like Annie, my old girlfriend in college used to do. Remember?"_

_The memory of better, simpler times made the ex-soldier's heart ache. Annie and Alex were good friends back then. JT used to joke, saying to their friends that they would have an AA meeting and Vincent always laughed. It seemed like that silly comment would never grow old. Ten years later, he didn't even know what happened to Annie. _

"_Yeah, I remember. Do you know where she is now?" _

"_Oh, she got married with my old lab partner, Carl. Remember him? Curly hair and freckles, a little shorter than me?" _

"_Yeah!"_

"_Dude, do I regret the day I introduced those two! Of course, she only started dating him after we broke up, but it was kind of weird to see them together. They're happy, though, and I have Sarah now, so it's all good," JT said in a jovial tone. _

"_Yeah, Sarah is a great girl. You deserve it," he replied with sincerity. _

"_Thanks, buddy! Hey, I have to take off to the university, okay? Call me later," the glassed man said in a hurry._

"_JT, I can't call you anymore! I'm just calling you now because I wanted you to know that I'm okay and that you're free to live your life. I'm... I'm so sorry for doing that after ten years of keeping you away from the world, man, but you know how dangerous it is," Vincent tried to explain with a heavy heart. _

"_Nonsense! Everything will be okay, V! Relax!" _

_It was useless to argue with JT. He sounded so different and delusional and that worried Vincent. It was better that way, though, if he thought harder about the issue at hand. The war veteran could live the rest of his life knowing that his best friend was happy with his girlfriend somewhere, waiting for a call that would never come. The tall man had hope, though, that one day, he would be able to see his friend again. One day, Muirfield's threat wouldn't be hanging over their heads and he would be free to do whatever he wanted, including seeing him again. He had to believe that. It was something to hope for._

"_Okay, man!"_

"_That's what I like to hear! Bye, man!"_

_No! He couldn't hang up now! There was something else Vincent needed to know. _

"_Wait!"_

"_Yeah, man?"_

"_JT, I wanted to know... hum... I mean...," he cleared his throat, feeling a lump on it all the sudden. _

"_V, I'm in a hurry, man!" the other man complained._

"_How... h-how is Catherine? Had you seen her lately? Is she worried about me?" he whispered, uncertain._

_He wanted so much to know about her, to still have some point of connection with her. He hadn't have the courage to call her, fearing her reaction, though. He couldn't tell her that he had chosen to run away with Alex, not after everything she told him at the park that dreadful morning. He knew she wouldn't take that well. Somehow, he thought that not talking to her about his decision would leave her door always open to him and he needed to believe that because he couldn't decide what was worse. Not seeing her for the rest of his life or knowing that _she didn't want_ to see him anymore. _

"_Who?" JT asked, surprised. _

"_C-Catherine. Did you talk to her?" he asked again, hesitatingly. _

"_Dude, who the heck is Catherine?" his friend asked seriously. _

"_What? JT, stop joking! You know Catherine was mad at me. I can't just call her now," the ex-soldier stated, getting a little upset with his friend inopportune and unpleasant joke._

"_Man, I don't know what you and Alex are doing in your little trip, but you really should slow down a bit. You're not making any sense. Have you ever heard that too much sex can make your brain melt?" JT teased and laughed out loud from his bad-tasted joke. _

"_I didn't have sex with Alex," he affirmed, feeling more and more angry by the second. "JT, tell me what's going on with Catherine."_

"_Vincent, I don't know any Catherine," the professor stated firmly. _

"_JT, I need to know what happened to her," Vincent said, darkly._

_Adrenaline was running through his body. He saw his hands' veins turning blue and felt his body modifying to his inhuman form. He tried to control himself, but it was hard to concentrate while thinking that something might had happened to his Catherine. _

"_Good luck with that. Maybe you should look for her on the phone book since I have no idea who you're talking about," JT responded sarcastically. _

_With the distorted voice of the "beast", Vincent said, "Tell me where is Catherine right now!"_

"_No!" JT shouted._

_That was all the genetically altered man could take. He fully changed with a menacing roar, smashing the phone in the process. The old woman using the phone next to him screamed. His anger turned to her and he took her by the neck, throwing her across the platform. She was already dead when she hit the ground. The other travelers around him started to run and scream, terrified by that insane and dangerous creature on the loose. _

"_Vince!" Alex called him sweetly, trying to reach him through the sea of people running for their lives. _

_The "beast" roared again, walking to her with golden eyes shining with a flame of madness. There was no recognition in his acts, only pure rage. There was no rational thought in his brain, only the necessity to destroy, to kill, to eliminate all life around him._

"_Vince, I love you!" Alex said, walking directly towards him and opening her arms to embrace the creature that he was. _

_That was her worst mistake. He grabbed her arms and ripped them, throwing them away like garbage while she screamed in pain. By that time, the bus station's security team had gathered behind Alex and started to shoot. Since she was in front of him, the bullets landed on her instead of the creature. She screamed one last time while falling forward in his arms. He changed back to his human form all the sudden, before the woman that loved him most died._

"_Alex! No!" he shouted, desperately. _

"_Vince," Alex called in a sweet whisper._

The dark haired man jumped up on the bed, sweating and confused.

"Shh, calm down, honey! You were having a nightmare!" the red haired woman said.

Vincent's heart seemed ready to explode in his chest. The dream had been so vivid, so intense. His worst fears and regrets all gathered in the same place to torment him. He looked at Alex with a lost expression on his face. His mind was still foggy by sleepiness and concern.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, not knowing what else to do.

"I'm not! I'll never be sorry to hear you saying my name on your sleep," she stated with a bright smile.

He hugged her, placing his forehead on hers, relieved. He hadn't been able to relax since they left New York for good. His mind was always occupied with concern for their lives, for JT not knowing where he was, for...

No, he wouldn't let his mind go there. He had made his decision and he didn't regret it. He was where he should be.

Alex turned her head, leveling her lips with his. He took the hint and kissed her in that light way he did all week. She tried to change it, pressing her body more firmly against his, making her tongue more demanding inside his mouth. That was when he ended the kiss.

"Sorry!" he apologized, as he had been doing every time they kissed. "I'm just not ready yet."

He just couldn't let himself go. His conscious mind told him that he was only avoiding more intimacy with her because he didn't want to loose control over his bestial side, trying to distract him from thinking about the real reason he had to refuse her displays of affection.

"That's okay, Vince! We have all the time in the world," she said, her eyes shinning with love.

It was so good to be looked at that way. What he wouldn't give to have... No, it wasn't right to think that. He was with Alex. His heart was Alex's now. As it should always have been.

"Speaking about time, aren't we late?" he asked, more in order to change the subject than anything else.

"No, we still have one hour before our bus leaves. It was a good thing your nightmare woke us up. Now we can have a coffee before boarding."

Vincent smiled widely. He didn't know what he did to deserve such a lovely and understanding woman by his side. He spent the entire week refusing her sexual advances, hiding behind the false impression she had that he was suffering from some kind of PTSD to avoid getting out of control and she just took everything with a smile on her face.

Alex was indeed a wonderful woman. He would treat her right that time. He would compensate her for everything that went wrong in their lives. He owned her that much and he would make sure to pay.

"Let's go, then! A coffee would be great right now!"

**A/N: I think the chapter speaks for itself, right? Not much to say about it. I'm proud of the dream scene, though. **

**What do you think?**

**See ya!**


	6. Chapter 5 - Slipping

**Disclaimer: This is just a work of fiction made for fun. I don't own Beauty and the Beast in any way. **

**Slipping **

Claire Saint-Clair was intercepted on her way out of Muirfield's headquarter by Jaime Ramirez again. She smiled brightly at him, delighted with her power over him. The guy had been practically her personal slave since the first time they were introduced.

"Can I talk to you, Mary?" he asked quietly, his green eyes shinning and standing out against his tanned skin.

She always thought that he looked simply eatable with the unusual contrast of his dark skin and light eyes with his black hair, adding his toned body to the mix. He wasn't tall, only medium height, but that didn't interfere in his handsomeness. Not to mention that the guy was a great fuck. He was definitely the type of guy that made women crazy. Luckily for her, her little toy was painfully shy. She only had to smile seductively at him once and he was a goner. She really didn't have to bed him to get what she wanted (he was that easy to manipulate), but she got curious when they first kissed because he knew what he was doing. Since them, she was enjoying everything he had to offer, both sexually and professionally.

"You know I don't like this name, Jaime," she admonished him in a fake matter, battering her eyelashes.

He gulped loudly, fascinated by her seductive ways. Jaime would do anything to have her attention. He always made sure to have first hand information to give her because she wanted to be a good agent and he wanted to help her achieving her gold. That was how devoted to her he was.

They were heading to the locker room's area, a place always desert at that time of the day.

"But I love it on you," he replied, as he always did.

"It's not my real name, though," the blonde woman argued.

"It's your assigned name, the one you gave me the first time we were introduced. You'll always be Mary to me," he reasoned with passion in his eyes.

"Hum... I don't think it fits. You know I can't get my hands off you. There's nothing virginal about me," she said, right below his ear, before pushing him inside the women's locker room, biting and sucking his earlobe lightly.

The dark haired man's eyes rolled in its orbits from the pleasure and his manhood instantly got hard. For a moment, he even forgot what was so important to tell her.

"Jaime, what did you want to say?" she asked while locking the door behind them.

"I found the Salter girl, Mary," Jaime informed solemnly.

Claire looked at him wide eyed, mentally clasping her own back. Having Jaime in the palm of her hand often proved itself as the best thing that ever happened to her.

"Are you sure it's her? How did you find her? Do you know if she's with the creature?" the agent asked hurriedly.

"Yes, it's her. She used her credit card in some town in Arkansas, right next to a bus station. I saw her in the surveillance cameras, but the creature wasn't anywhere around her. She bought a jacket way too big and masculine for her, though. It's possible that Keller was waiting for her somewhere. I think they're heading South, trying to deceive us with an erratic route."

"Yeah, that sounds like Keller," Claire agreed, pensive. "Did you tell this to anyone else?"

"No, baby! I erased all the info and the footage's image from the mainframe after I copied everything on my pen-drive. You'll be the only one to use this information."

"Good job, baby. You're the best," she praised him with a big smile, before unzipping his pants.

The blonde woman was thrilled. Ever since Silverfox had disappeared, she had been dreaming about taking his position. And capturing Keller would be the perfect way to impress her bosses. After all, not even the mighty Silverfox had managed to do it and everyone considered him as one of the best.

He had tried to hide the mistake he made by letting the creature escape, but her employers had found out why he was being so secretive after his team's disappearance. They assumed that Keller had taken them down, the same way he took down those agents in the woods. That creature definitely wasn't one to underestimate.

But, if he really was running away with his old fiancée, he just made himself vulnerable. She smiled again, already formulating a plan to take them down. She dropped to her knees and leveled her mouth to Jaime's erection. He sure deserved a reward.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alex was so excited when she entered the room and gave him the shop's bag she was holding that Vincent couldn't help, but smile. She was almost bouncing with a large smile on her face. His smile faded away as soon as he saw the bag's containment, though.

"Alex, how did you buy this jacket? I told you not to use your credit card," Vincent reprimanded her in panic.

Her smile disappeared instantaneously and she looked at him confused. She thought he would be glad to get rid of that old, overly worn military jacket. The only thing she wanted was to make him happy, but his reaction didn't get nearly close to what she expected. She thought for a second and decided not to upset him more. She didn't want their new shared life to begin with silly arguments.

"Of course I didn't, Vince! I bought it with the money you gave me yesterday. It was on sale," she lied with a hurt expression.

Vincent and JT had set accounts under fake names years ago as part of their escaping plans. They knew that they would need money to travail without raising suspicions and had decided to save a little bit of it each month. They also decided that it would be wiser to not know which bank they would put the money on or what name they would use. That way, even if one of them got caught by Muirfield, the other would be safe.

Vincent's account had a considerable amount of money, enough to sustain he and Alex until they could join her friends in Mexico. As soon as they got out of New York, the ex-soldier told his fiancée that she shouldn't use her credit card or try to get money from her own account in order to keep a low profile. He took some cash from his own account and gave her a little bit, knowing that a woman needed some personal things.

The war veteran regretted the way he talked to her as soon as her face fell. He wasn't used to have people around him doing things without consulting him, people that didn't analyzed and tried to avoid every single possibility of being caught. But he was relieved to know that Alex had listened to him. He didn't need to worry about her doing things on her own, after all. Her docile demeanor was so different from...

He shook his head, denying himself that thought. It would be easier for everyone if he didn't let himself think about things that he couldn't have anymore.

"I'm sorry, Alex! I overreacted. It's just that I don't want to take unnecessary risks and jeopardize our future with a little thing like a jacket," he apologized.

"It's all right, baby! I know that you're stressed. I'll take a shower now, okay?"

She smiled at him, grabbed some clothes and entered the small bathroom, sighing in relieve as soon as she closed the door. She shook her head with an indulgent smile on her lips.

"_Vincent and his silly paranoia,"_ she thought amused.

She understood how important was to not confront him on his fears. His PTSD was complex and profound and it would take time to heal. But she wouldn't spend her life looking over her shoulders just because he thought that there was someone chasing after them. They were leaving the country, anyway. Even if that whole I'm-a-hunted-man thing was true – which she honestly thought it was just his emotional state talking – there was no way someone could find them.

She wasn't worried, though. They would find a good shrink as soon as they settle down with her friends and Vincent would be okay again. They had already went through the worse part of his disease: their separation. Together, they would get over all those problems and just be insanely happy, the same way they were before that terrible September, 11.

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Cat sat at the second step of the stairway that leaded to Vincent's old room, breathing an air that seemed heavy and sad. The warehouse had acquired a dark atmosphere, almost as if it was absorbing the hopeless she and JT were feeling since he left.

She had mixed feelings about spending time in that place since _it_ happened. On one hand, Vincent's absence was more palpable there because she could remember all the times she entered that makeshift house to find his smile and knew that she would never had that sight again. That thought alone made her want to run away screaming and never come back.

On the other one, she felt obligated to come back almost daily. JT was in a really bad shape, still denying firmly the possibility of Vincent's escape, scanning every little bit of information that could lead to Muirfield, looking for him. His faith that Vincent wouldn't take off without telling him was so intense that Cat started to doubt her intuition, that certainty she had that Vincent had made his choice.

She couldn't believe that three weeks had already passed. As much as her rational mind knew exactly how long it had been since the last time she saw the man she loved, the pain in her heart made it fells like it happened yesterday.

"Hey! Are you waiting for me for too long?" JT asked when he entered the room, walking straight to the table at the corner to put his bag on it.

"No, just like ten minutes," she replied with a sad smile.

"Any news?" the professor questioned almost automatically.

"No. You?"

"Not a single one. I'm trying to find some clue about Muirfield's quarter, but the company seems invisible."

"Yeah, but that's their purpose, so..." the brunette affirmed, shrugging her shoulders in a tired gesture.

"I know! I won't give up, though."

"JT, even if you're right, do you really think they would keep Vincent in New York? It wouldn't be rational and those guys are professionals," she argued by the millionth time.

"That's why he has to be here, Cat. They know we wouldn't look for him here," he whispered.

Cat sighed, tired of the same argument. Deep inside, she wanted to believe in JT's theories because it was better than thinking that she was alone in her love, but the cynical part of her wanted to slap some sense in the glassed man's thick head.

"I brought you dinner," she said pointing to the fridge, where she placed a pizza as soon as she arrived, and trying to change the conversation's topic. "Heather and Darius left two untouched pizzas in the kitchen yesterday. I still don't know why Darius insist on buying food he won't eat."

JT smiled at her little rant and said, "Still don't like him much, do you?"

Her shoulders fell and she sighed again.

"I don't know, JT. He's Joe's brother. That alone should be enough reason for me to trust him, but something about that guy isn't right."

"You want me to... I don't know... spy on him or something?" he offered sincerely.

"Thanks, JT, but I can handle it. Besides, you need time to find something about Muirfield."

"Did you change your mind?" JT asked excitedly.

"Not exactly, but I know you'll blame me for keeping you away from your mission so..."

His face reddened instantly and he said, "I wouldn't. I know now that you do care."

She smiled indulgently at him. It was strange how much her outburst had helped them to improve their relationship. Cat could almost say that JT became her friend after that.

"I know you do. I have to go now. Heather wants me to help her picking up a dress for some event on Darius' night club next week. I'll come back later, okay?" she said, squeezing his shoulder lightly before leaving.

JT looked around the empty warehouse, feeling alone and sad. He sighed and went back to his computer. He had a few ideas earlier and wanted to test them right away. His friend was in danger and he wouldn't let a little thing like tiredness stop him from finding him.

**A/N: I love Claire! A powerful and beautiful woman making the good guys' lives hell? That was a really nice touch on the show. I hope you guys love to hate her as much as I do because her part on this story is important. **

**Also, I had an insight last week about this story so I changed slightly the prologue. It's not **_**that**_** necessary to read it, but I wanted to let you guys know. **

**Guys, I'll really need your help here. It's not a secret how much I dislike Alex's character. Therefore, I'm always afraid to write her wrong. In this story, she's really that naïve, childish and delusional person the writers tried – and failed miserably, by the way – to create in the show. I know some of you don't like her, too, but I want to stay faithful to my intention of doing her character justice. **

**You have to bear in mind that she's clueless about Vincent's situation. Therefore, she'll do a lot of things wrong in this story and I don't want people hating her or thinking that she deserves if something bad happens to her. So I want you to be generous to her, put yourselves on her shoes and tell me when you think I'm not portraying her as a good person doing stupid things out of naivety, okay?**

**The same goes for Vincent. He's lost right now, trapped in his own fantasy of a better future and his blindness about Cat's true feelings. I'm not writing this story to make you hate him. **

**Kara Lang, thank you for your fierce support. It means a lot to me. But let go, girl. It's not worth. This person is obviously trying to call attention to her/himself in the most hateful way. I don't really know why this person felt the need to personally attack me like this, but he/she can't be taken seriously. A person that talks about fictional characters as if they were real and demands "intellectual honesty" in FanFiction, a land were men get pregnant without any scientific intervention, women fall in love with machines and ghosts take people to other planets, is someone we should pity, not fight with. **

**See ya!**


	7. Chapter 6 - Crossing

**Disclaimer: This is just a work of fiction made for fun. I don't own Beauty and the Beast in any way. **

**Crossing**

It was really a weird sensation to be watched so intently. Maybe he had been so accustomed to hide that he couldn't stand those eyes watching his every move. Or maybe he was just over-thinking that, as always. But something was wrong about it.

"It's perfect!" Alex said with a dreamy face, almost in awe.

"It's not perfect, Alex," he disagreed vehemently. "It doesn't fit."

"_How couldn't she see that?"_ he thought, kind of annoyed.

"I'm deeply sorry, Mr. Michaelson. I know how frustrating it must be to have your wedding rings stolen, but those are the only ones that match we have," Mr. Heltz, a bald and belly rounded salesman in his late fifties lamented, seeing Vincent's annoyed face.

The war veteran felt the blood in his veins boiling and his bestial side manifested itself in the flash of golden in his iris. It was bad enough to be on that situation. He didn't need someone repeating what he already know. Luckily, his companions were too engrossed in observing his hands to notice it.

"I know that!" he barked.

"Vince, it's not his fault! Don't be such a caveman," Alex said lightly.

The blue eyed woman was really an angel. Vincent thanked God again to have her by his side, forgiving his every flaw, acting as if his rudeness wasn't something despicable and supporting him unconditionally. He fought his inner monster more fiercely, blaming that stressful escape for the constants episodes of rage he was having since they got out of New York.

Despite being under the beneficial effects of Vanessa's serum, his temper was almost uncontrollable lately. He felt like a boiling kettle ready to explode and he didn't know why he was feeling like that since everything was just fine so far. He was glad that all that running was coming to its end. He needed to settle down, to have some kind of calming ambient. He was sure he would be less irritable once he and Alex got to their destination.

"Why don't you guys wait a little bit, Mr. and Mrs. Michaelson? Maybe, if you give me a few days, I would be able to find a ring more fittable to you," Mr. Heltz offered.

"That won't be possible, Mr. Heltz," Alex responded, promptly. "We're just passing by. We just wanted to buy other rings here because we don't know if our new town will have jewelery stores. It's a really small town, you know?"

She smiled at Vincent, obviously pleased with herself because she had followed their cover story perfectly. It was still weird for her to lie to people, but she had thought about what he said when she bought his new jacket.

Even if she wasn't exactly convinced that her lover was a "hunted man", she knew that someone had tried to lure him to the woods in the night they ran away, that he knew too much of something he wasn't supposed to know and that he spent ten years in hiding. He wouldn't do that if something wasn't wrong. Therefore, she decided to follow Vincent's rule of maintaining a low profile and leaving their past behind.

"Really? Why would a beautiful young lady like you want to hide in a small town?" the bald man asked with a kind smile.

"We'll be a part of a project to help people in need," she responded proudly.

"Oh, that's wonderful, dear! Somehow, I know that's something that will fit you."

"Thank you, Mr. Heltz. So, you see, we can't wait for another ring. Besides, the inscription on them is just so perfect for us."

Her words made Vincent's heart feel tight for some inexplicable reason. He took the ring out of his finger and read the word engraved in an elegant cursive letter on it again.

"_Forever"._

He closed his eyes to avoid the sudden moist that welled on them. That was the right word for them and he knew it, but a part of his heart still held on to a sentiment that shouldn't be there anymore. Forever was what he promised to Alex and what he would give her. There was no room for regrets in his new life. He shouldn't feel like...

He wasn't cheating on anyone. There wasn't anything like betraying his own heart. That was only something people say to justify guilt and he had absolutely no reason to want or need to do that. He was doing what was right, what was the best for him and what he should had done ten years ago. That was right. He was with Alex. Alex was his forever. No one else.

"Yeah, they're perfect for us," he interfered in their conversation, determinate to end it. "You're both right, Mr. Heltz. Sorry for being rude. I'm just worried about being late for our bus. These will do. Thank you for your help."

They payed for the rings and went back to the bus station. The bus didn't take long to start its journey. Alex made a point to slid the ring on his finger, which she did with an expression of pure bliss. He felt obligated to do the same, but he was sure his face didn't reflect hers because he was too busy telling himself that his heart was on that.

It was odd how he could feel the weight of the ring. It was also very uncomfortable to wear it when it was so much bigger than his finger. He had to be careful with his own hand so it wouldn't slid out. But that was okay. He just needed a little time to get used to his new body adornment, to get used to the fact that he and Alex would introduce themselves as a married couple to people from that moment on and to get used to be normal again. It was only a matter of time for him to stop remembering...

"_Stop!"_ he told himself. _"There's no point to think about her anymore!"_

There was no point to think about anything else than his present situation and he would make sure of it. There was no point on thinking about someone that didn't think about him.

Their last nightly stop was Las Cruces where they rented another room in a cheap motel near the bus station. The plan was to rent a car and drive to the border of Mexico. Alex was beyond excited, talking non stop about her friends and how good their new life would be. Her happiness was a balm to his tormented thoughts that were only focused on keeping his inner monster under control.

The proximity of the end of their journey was getting him even more anxious because he kept wondering how they would cross the border to Mexico. They had to find a desert spot to avoid cameras or the police. Imagining Alex in a situation that required cold blood and a soldier like mentality was weird and alarming.

That night Alex was particularly excited. She kept putting their ringed hands together to admire the symbol of their bond. When they entered the hotel's room for their last rest before the risky maneuver they would have to plan, she practically attacked him with a kiss full of lust, sliding her hands under his shirt and digging her nails on his skin.

"I love you so much," she said while kissing his face and neck.

"I know. I love you, too," he replied, sincerely.

It was truth. He loved her. She had been a constant in his life since childhood and he could count on her to everything. She had helped him to get through dark times after his brother's death and had asked only for his love in return. She was a kind, comprehensive and incredibly innocent woman and he owned her his love.

It was time to stop having doubts and reservations. The serum had worked, he was in control and could do that. He could finally be a man again. It was time to reward her for leaving everything behind to be with him because no one else did or would ever do that. He was decided and responded to her kiss with equal lust. That would be the night he would make love to her.

"I can't believe we're finally married," Alex affirmed in wonder.

That word, along with her hungry display of passion, had a dangerous effect on him. While he got instantly aroused with her aggressive demeanor, his body froze with the thought of being tied up to her for the rest of their lives. Inside of him, the adrenaline kicked. He felt the change coming and his eyes flashed gold.

"Alex, no!" he reacted, pushing her away from him with more force than he intended to.

"Vince, you're hurting me!" his wife complained.

The alarm in her voice brought him back from his darker side and he looked at her with brown, wide eyes. He couldn't believe that it happened again, that he was close to loose control again. With Alex, from all people. He could have hurt her. He didn't think or tried to justify his behavior to her, he just ran out of the room.

Alex stayed frozen in the same spot for one minute before processing what had happened and bursting down in tears. That was just too much for her. She couldn't understand what was going on with her husband. Sometimes, he seemed like an entire different person. It was like he had forgot how to be her Vince, like he was stuck in some place where she wasn't allowed. She wanted to be a good and understanding wife, but his irrational refusal to make love to her was frustrating and disappointing. She had tried to be patient, but that whole situation was so confuse and unique that she couldn't figure out what she was supposed to do.

Vincent ran through the night for a couple of hours fully changed without feeling any tiredness. Ever since he took the serum, his transformed body had achieved a new level of capacity and strength. He was unstoppable. His conscious mind told him that he had to go back to Alex, but he couldn't reign the adrenaline running through his body long enough for him to change back and he couldn't allow her to see him in his bestial form. The running had been good to help him to overcome his arousal, but had done nothing to clear his mind.

Finally coming to a stop in front of a cemetery, attracted by the peace and solitude of it, he jumped its fence and walked aimlessly through the place, admiring the tumulus and work of art scattered around it to homage the dead. He couldn't quite precise how long he spent there because that quiet place seemed to have its own time.

For the first time since their escape, he wished to be back home, where he could go to his brother's grave. Usually, on his most stressful days, he would go there and talk to them as if they were still by his side. It was an useless habit, he knew that very well, but it always managed to calm him down. Since he couldn't have that, he just sat in a bench near the graves and let his mind wonder, pretending that he was there, while he decided what to do.

Little by little, he came back to his senses and planned out how they would cross the border and he decided that it was time to go back to Alex. The first lights of a new day wouldn't take long to appear in the sky by the time he arrived the hotel. He noticed that she was asleep by the sound of her breathing and entered the room carefully not to scare her. The smell of her salty tears was heavy in the air.

"Alex," Vincent called gently, touching her shoulder lightly.

She woke up immediately, a clear indication that she was waiting for his return, and threw herself on his arms, sobbing.

"I'm sorry, Vince. I'm so sorry. I didn't want to push you. I was... I'm just...," she stuttered.

"I know, honey. I'm sorry, too. I never meant to hurt you. Don't cry. Everything will be okay," he reassured her.

"Yes, it will. We're together. That's all that matters. The rest can wait," the redheaded woman vowed.

He kissed her forehead, thankful for her sweetness and love. They spent a few more minutes in each other's arms before he started to tell her about his plan, telling her that they should start their way toward the border by the end of the day. After a few more hours of sleep on the hotel, they gathered their sparse belongings and headed South. They took their time driving and stopping along the way.

It was night already when they entered the road that would lead them to Mexico. They stopped two miles away from the border and slept in the car. A little bit before dawn, the ex-soldier woke his wife up, telling her to stay alert and wait for him. She looked at him with wide eyes and just nodded, trying to hide her anxiety. Vincent got out of the car with a heavy heart, hearing the frantic beat of her scared heart, but that was the point of no return.

It was easy to find the border patrolmen with his night vision. He chose a particular spot where he could see only three men. They were heavily armed, but they weren't trained to fight a creature with Vincent's strength and speed.

He ran towards the first agent and threw his body's weight on him. The man fell down to the ground and passed away without even knowing what happened, but the movement called the second agent's attention and he came running and pointing his gun to Vincent, but he simply took a hold on the gun and rolled it upside down, making the agent's arm turn in a painful and impossible angle. A punch on the back of his head finished his job and he went to the third agent that was walking towards them with a flashlight in his hand, searching for the fight. He jumped the man, receiving a punch on his jaw. That one was a better fighter, but Vincent had the element of surprise on his favor. The man managed to get on his feet again and threw another punch on his liver, but the war veteran was faster and parried the blow, punching his jaw in the sequence. It took him less than five minutes to knock all three of them down. He tied and put tapes on their mounts and made sure to break their radios before scanning the area to be certain that there wasn't any other police officers around.

Then, he went back to Alex with his full speed, not wanting to risk their window. Walking at human pace beside her was almost torturing, but he couldn't blame her for not being capable of doing the things he could do. He carefully inspected the area again. There was no sign of any disturbance. He called Alex and they ran to the other side of the border. She wasn't such a good runner, but she did her best to follow him for the first mile. He was in full alert mode, using all his enhanced senses to detect any presence, but everything was quiet and peaceful and the only living beings around were the desert's fauna.

When they reached a road and resigned to a walk again, he let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding and started to laugh. Alex looked at him with surprise, but soon joined him in his relieved happiness. They had reached their final destination. They were officially in Mexico.

**A/N: I'm still not inspired and feeling betrayed. Luckily – or not, it depends of one's POV – my current two stories had already been planned so I'm sticking with the universe on my mind. **

**I know some of you will be a little – or a lot, if you're anything like me – upset with the ring and the fact that Vincent and Alex are married now, but it has to happen. I hope you still stick around after this. **

**See ya!**


	8. Chapter 7 - Dying

**Disclaimer: This is just a work of fiction made for fun. I don't own Beauty and the Beast in any way. **

**Dying**

Heather came practically bouncing out of her room, wearing one of her beautiful _killer dresses_ – the ones she claimed were capable of making a guy cry – that had an audacious and bright dark pink shade and a bright smile and Cat felt horrible for hating her attitude.

Her sister had been even more excited than her normal self ever since she started dating Darius and that bothered the detective on her because she thought something was off on the way he acted. She felt like he wasn't being truthful, like he wasn't who he said he was. He just tried _too much_, was just _too friendly_, like he was trying to charm her or something. Cat wanted to blame her job and her general disposition to not trust people to that unease vibe, but there was nothing she could do to change it. He just didn't inspire her good feelings.

"Are you ready to party?" Heather asked playfully.

She had promised to go to the club with them that night, despite not wanting to do it. The older sister was trying to accomplish two different, but equally hard, tasks. To give a chance to Darius and change her opinion about him and to overcome her mourning.

Ever since she found Alex's cabin empty, an oppressing sadness had taken her heart and body, extinguishing all will to interact with people. The petite brunette was trying her hardest to put on a good front and move on with her life. Being more involved on Heather's and Tess' lives seemed a good way to take her mind off Vincent and her broken heart.

Of course, it would be easier without JT's presence, but she couldn't bring herself to cut his friendship off. He seemed so lost and obsessed by Vincent's disappearance. She feared that he would eventually do something reckless and she wanted to be there to see it before it happened so she could protect him. She just didn't know how to do that when her own heart wished so much that he was right. Over a month had passed after that night and they still hadn't found anything to validate the professor's theory and she couldn't get over that squeeze in her heart that said that Vincent had followed Alex to a new life.

She was fighting constantly against her sadness. Seeing Heather's bright smile made her want to fight harder. She needed to forget and move on, to start her life again. She couldn't live like that for the rest of her life. She forced herself to smile.

"Really? I can't believe you're going with this," she mocked her sister playfully.

The younger sister made a funny face, dismissing Cat's teasing and replying, "Whatever! I'm so excited that you decided to leave your exile! You'll love Darius' club! Although you could have been a little bolder with your outfit, the guys still will droll on you. We're going to have lots of fun."

She was hearing a black and golden loose blouse and black leggings. It was a simple choice, but she looked cute on it and it valued her pretty face. She wasn't up for a big fashion parade, after all. And the last thing she needed at that moment was "guys drolling on her".

"There's nothing wrong with my outfit and I'll be perfectly fine without any guy. Weren't we supposed to be heading to the club half an hour ago?" she said, skillfully diverging from that topic.

"Yeah, but it takes some time to reach perfection," Heather replied teasingly, gesturing to show her body up and down and heading to the door. "Darius will be so happy to have you there. It's so good to see the family coming closer."

The word shocked Cat and she retorted, more aggressively than she wanted, "Family? Heather, you're dating him for a month!"

The other woman froze and turned her head to look at her with an uncharacteristic serious expression. Her eyes were shinning with an indignant irritation.

"And, despite the short time, I really like him. He's trying really hard to be a part of the family and please you. The least you can do is giving him a chance."

"I'm just saying that you're going too fast too soon. You don't even know him well enough," the older woman affirmed, feeling the impatience with her sister's childishness grow.

"But you don't know him at all, don't you?" Heather replied, storming out the apartment.

Cat sighed, already regretting having accepted to go to that club. She sensed she would have a long – and stressful – night. Her sister didn't say much on their way to the club. Cat didn't like the tension inside the car, but driving was distracting enough to postpone another conversation about _the fabulous Darius_. It was a good thing that Heather was the owner's girlfriend because there was a long line waiting to enter the club.

"_Well, at least, this a sign that the club is doing good, right?"_ the older sister thought to herself.

Darius seemed delighted to have the two girls on his domains, showing them off to everyone. Cat tried her best to be friendly and patient, but she couldn't avoid to think that he looked like a collector showing his preciosities to envious fellow collectors. And the worse of all was that, the more he tried to be nice, the more he seemed somehow false to her eyes. After a while, she caught herself thinking how she would manage to cohabit with him if that romance got as serious as Heather wanted it to be.

Cat decided to wander the club by herself after one extremely long hour posing as happy sister-in-law so she could have a break of having to smile, nod and pretend to laugh at the bad jokes from the unknown people around. The club was replete and nobody was really paying attention to her so she took a tour of her own, having to admit to herself that Darius did a good job on decorating the club to make it look sexy and appealing.

Her tour was interrupted shortly, though. Her trained detective's eyes noticed a couple near the bar acting oddly, almost secretively. A distracted observer could think that it was just a flirt, but there was something suspicious on the way they interacted. At some point, the guy took a little pack from his pocket and put on the girl's hand, doing his best to conceal his action.

Cat almost dropped the coke she was holding. A drug dealer. That was why Darius' club was doing so well. His club was a free land for drugs. That was why he was why he tried so hard to please her instead of concentrating on his girlfriend. He wanted to diverge her attention. Too bad for him that he was doing such a poor job on it.

The petite brunette didn't want to accuse him unfairly, though. She needed to be sure that Darius knew about what was going on at his business. She marked the guy – he was blond haired, really average, not tall or short, not really attractive or ugly, the perfect person to pass by unnoticed – and spent the next half hour observing him discreetly, pretending to dance or drink. It was risky, but she was accustomed on working undercover. Plus, the guy was just too comfortable doing his little business, as if he had, indeed, free reign on that place.

At some point, the guy left his spot, heading to the office's area. On his way, he stopped to talk with two other man, one of them bald and the other Latin descent looking. The three of them simply stepped into the private area without any interference from security, confirming Cat's suspicions. He, along with his friends, were welcomed there. Cat took a chance and followed them, hoping that her status of the owner's girlfriend sister would grant her free pass. Apparently, security thought the same because no one tried to stop her.

The door to Darius' office wasn't totally closed. She approached it carefully, trying to see inside from the little gap. The bald man was flanked by the other two men, arms crossed at his chest. Despite seeing only his back, Cat could tell that he had an authoritarian attitude, like he was the one in charge.

"You could, at least, be more discreet," she could distinguish Darius' mendicancy tone.

"And you could, at least, pay our money," the bald man replied, harshly. "Since that won't happen any time soon, we'll do whatever we want to recuperate our investment."

"If someone finds out about this, I can loose my club," the dark skinned man begged again.

"Then all you have to do is make sure no one will find out, right?" the _boss_ mocked.

Cat took that as a cue to get out of there. That conversation would be over soon and she didn't want to get caught there. What she heard was proof enough that Darius was buried until his neck on all that. She would have to find a way to dismantle that scheme and to tell Joe that his brother was involved with criminals later. At that moment, all she cared about was finding her sister and telling her what she saw. She needed to make sure Heather would stay away from those men.

Heather was dancing in the middle of the dance floor and Cat had almost to beg for a little bit of her attention. They went to the lounge area where the music wasn't so loud, but was still loud enough to cover their conversation from prying ears.

"Heather, I don't know how to say this in a soft way," she started.

"What is it?" the younger sister asked, intrigued.

"Darius. He's not what you think he is. This club is only a fake business. Darius is involved with drug dealers and they're using the club for it."

"What?" Heather said, outrageous. "What are you talking about? You went completely insane? Darius' brother is the head of your precinct. He's a cop's sibling, just like me. He would never get involved with drug dealing. I can't believe you're saying that."

"It's true, Heather. I saw a man dealing freely near the bar and I followed him to Darius' office," she tried to explain.

"You were spying on him?" the younger sister half yelled, outrageous.

"Of course not, I was just walking around and happened to see the guy and..." she started to explain, but Heather cut her off.

"This is a club, Cat! Drugs happen! Some times, the owners don't even know about it and Darius can only do so much to avoid people to consume it here! I'm sure that, as soon as we talk about this with him, he'll reinforce his security system. You're only twisting what you saw to fit your bad judgment of him. My boyfriend's one of the good guys and you have no right to throw on him your anger towards Vincent Zalansky."

"What?"

"You think I don't know what's happening to you? You have been nothing but unfair to Darius due to your bitterness since day one. Vincent Zalansky dumped you to go back to his ex and you're taking your rage on Darius as if he was to one that did so. And you know what? It's a good thing that he went God knows where. You're better off without him. Ever since he entered your life, you're behaving like an entire different person. That guy clearly wasn't a good influence on you and I'm glad that he's out of the picture."

Cat palled, taken aback by her sister's prejudice towards someone that she didn't even know and argued, "That's not true. You don't know anything about Vincent."

"Yes, it is. And I know enough about him to think that he's bad news. I'm sorry about your broken heart, Cat. I really am. But not every guy is an asshole like that Zalansky guy. Your relationship failed and now you're trying to destroy mine so you can prove that there's no good guy in the world."

Cat felt her eyes welling with tears, devastated with the injustice of Heather's judgment of her personality. She would never take a person for other, even if her heart was as broken as it was at that moment. For a minute, the petite female just stood there, looking at her sister and trying to control her emotions so she could have an adult conversation with her.

She took a deep breath and said in a low tone, "Heather, this has nothing to do with Vincent. I wouldn't be so careless to accuse a person of something if I didn't have proof. It's me, Heather. I'm the responsible one, remember? Who is the one you come to when you need?"

"That's right, Cat! I talk to you because that's what sisters do, but you don't know that, don't you? You don't know how to be normal! God, you're so full of shit!"

Heather turned her back on her and left rapidly, not listening to Cat's pleas for her to come back. Cat tried to look for her, but it was virtually impossible to find her in the middle of so many people. The younger woman never walked so fast before. In less than a minute, she blended with the crowd and disappeared. Heather wanted nothing more than to find Darius and be comforted by his strong arms.

Her sister was simply being a bitch. She understood that Cat was hurt because the guy she clearly loved didn't love her back, but it wasn't right to take her pain on them. Darius was sweet and kind, the perfect boyfriend in every sense of the world. It hurt her that the person closest to her couldn't see that due to her hardened heart.

She ran to her boyfriend's office, not really knowing how to explain her disappointed tears. The short haired woman didn't want to tell the man she was falling for that her sister had just accused him to be a drug dealer. She needed his comfort, though. Maybe she could come up with some lame excuse and he would drop the subject. She knew that she would have to talk about that with him eventually, but she wanted to have a little time to arrange her thoughts and to make him see that nothing that Cat could say would make her give up on them.

Even though her sister had just told her about Darius' illicit activities, nothing could prepare her to see him being beat up by a Latin-looking man while a bald one looked when she entered his office.

"What are you...?" she started to tell, but the bald man covered her mouth with his hand, grabbing her from behind.

"Get him up! Let's get out of here," he ordered the other man, pushing Heather out of the room.

The three of them got out from a lateral door, reaching the desert alley behind the club and the bald man released Heather. The Latin-looking man still had a heavy grip on Darius.

"My sister is a cop," she yelled, desperate.

The bald man turned his head to Darius, seeming as calm as a person talking with an old friend.

"So it's not enough being that close to the cops, now you're filling our backyard with their families and friends? We really have to teach you a lesson," he said, looking pensive.

"If you do anything, I'll..." Heather tried to threaten them, but the bald man punched her in the face and she yelled in pain.

"Please, don't hit her!" Darius implored, only to be punched by the man holding him.

"I'll do whatever I want to make her shut up. She'll tell her sister about us and I can allow that. In fact, we'll me sure that it'll all come back to you," he explained, calculatingly.

"What are you going to do?" Darius asked, on the verge of tears.

"Not me, you! You brought her in, she's your problem. It's your finger on the trigger," he said and his partner produced a gun instantly, putting it on Darius' hand and cocking it. "The gun stays with us, just in case. You don't want your hero brother to find what a real loser you are."

"What? Darius..." Heather yelled, confused, not believing that her boyfriend would do such thing.

"No, I..." he tried to argue.

"Do it!" the bald man commanded, yelling firmly. "Or you'll find out what real pain is."

The dark skinned man looked at him with wide eyes, visibly shocked and faltering. The man holding his arm pulled out another gun from his pocket and put it right over his temple. There was no way out of that. There was no hope. He would die. And Joe would find out that he was conniving with drug dealing. His family would find out what a failure he really was. His life was in danger. And Heather just keep yelling like a ridiculous damsel in distress. He pressed the trigger more firmly.

In her last second, Heather saw the resolve in his eyes and all her mistakes flashed before her eyes. The only thing she could think about was how stupid she had been.

"I can't believe my sister was right about you," she whispered.

And that statement was what made him see that he would do that. Catherine was able to see his true colors before he even knew about the dark side of his soul. He wasn't like Joe. He wasn't a good person. That was his last thought before shooting at her head and ending her life.

Simultaneously, her body fell to the ground and Darius collapsed on his knees, crying desperately. He never meant that to happen and he certainly never pictured himself as a killer. He reached the point of no return in his life and he was pretty sure that he handed himself in a silver plate for his. He would be theirs from that moment on. It would never be over.

Cat arrived at her apartment feeling beyond tired. She had searched for Heather for almost an hour before giving up and deciding to go back home. Her sister might be mad at her, but she would have to go home eventually. It was probably better to give her some time to calm down and think a little.

She wouldn't give up, though. Not after finding out about the kind of people Darius was involved with. Heather was way too naïve and trusting to hang out with someone with criminal connections and she wouldn't let her take unnecessary risks, specially the ones she would be taking unwillingly. The only problem was that she would have to gather real evidence of his illicit activities since her sister didn't believe her.

Her dark thoughts were interrupted by her cell phone's ring.

"Chandler," she answered, promptly.

"Detective Chandler? This is officer Rainer. We need you at the precinct as soon as possible," a male voice sounded on her ear.

A cold feeling engulfed her heart and she whispered, "What's this about?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we need you to identify a body," the man hesitated a second, then continued, "I'm really sorry to inform you this way. We think it's your sister."

Cat let her body fall heavily in the couch, her vision blurred with tears, whispering painfully, "No."

**A/N: That was the change on the prologue I was talking about. Since this is a "what if" universe and I'm sticking to a lot of things that happened on the show, I thought it made sense. Vincent isn't there to save Heather, so... **

**And, to the haters, no, I'm not getting revenge on Heather due to "Tough Love". People that read my previous stories knows how much I love her and how I hated what the writers did with her character from that ep on. Her death is only a consequence of a series of events. **

**Plus, this is a dark fic so things WON'T be okay in the end. I'm sorry. It is what it is. **

**Cat's outfit for the club is the same one she wore to go out with Tess and Heather on "Cold Turkey". Don't judge me. I'm uninspired so I have to take the little will to write to focus on the story instead of looking for dresses. Besides, KK looked cute on those clothes. For those that are curious about Heather's killer dress, the link is below. I pictured the gray one in the middle, but I chance it to a brighter color because Heather isn't – or wasn't, in this fic's case (LOL) – a basic color's person. **

**H t t p**

**:/**

**blog**

**..**

**bebe**

**..**

**com/**

**2011/12/19/**

**deal-alert-5-hot-party-dresses-under-100/**

**See ya!**


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